Demolition Orders in Nahhalin Village West of Bethlehem Governorate

November 23, 2011

On November 21, 2011, the Israeli Civil Administration related to the Israeli Occupation Army handed out three halt construction and demolition orders to local residents of Nahhalin village west of Bethlehem city. The demolition orders targeted two under-construction houses and a Brick factory under the pretext of lacking building permits, due to their location in the areas classified as ‘C‘ where Israel retains full control over security and administration related to the territory.

The first house is owned by local resident Mohammad Ahmad Abdel Rahman Sha’ban and is 130 m² area. The house was built two years ago with a total cost of NIS 120 thousand (about $32,000). See Photo 1 & Photo 2:

The second house is owned by local resident Ahmad Yasin Abdel Aziz Najajreh, where he indicated that his 180 m² house was built in January 2011 with a total cost of NIS 200 thousand ($54,000). Mr. Najajreh added that he had previously received demolition order for his under-construction house in June 2011, under the pretext of lacking building permit. See Photos 3 & 4:-

The third demolition order was served to local resident Mohammad Abdel Karim Harb, owner of a brick factory which was built in May 2010 with a total cost of NIS 235 thousand (about $64,000). See Photos 5-8:

The fourth demolition order targeted an under-construction house of 150 square meters area and owned by resident Hasan Ibrahim Abdel Hamid Yasin in Qarnet Al ‘Ein area in Nahhalin village. See Photo 9

Map: Location of targetd housesPrevious Israeli halt of construction and demolition orders targeting Nahhalin village

On June 27, 2011, the Israeli Civil Administration, delivered halt of construction, and demolition orders to two local residents in the village, the first order targeted a cattle farm owned by local resident Mahmoud Hasan Shakarneh and was built in the year 2001; while the second order targeted resident Ahmad Yasin Abdel Aziz Najajreh who had received the second order in November 21, 2011.

Nahhalin village … Location & Population
Nahhalin is one of the villages of Bethlehem Governorate, populated by 8053 residents (PCBS 2010). It is bordered by Husan village and the illegal Israeli settlement of Betar ‘Illit from the north, the illegal Israeli settlement of Rush Tzurim from the south, Artas village as well as the illegal Israeli settlement of Neve Daniel from the east, Al Jab’a village and the illegal Israeli settlement of Geva’ot from its west.

The Geopolitical Status of Nahhalin Village
According to the Oslo II Interim agreement of 1995, Nahhalin village lands, as well as the rest of the Palestinian Territory were divided into areas A, B and C. In Area A, the Palestinian National Authority has complete autonomy over administrative and security issues, where in area B, Palestinians have full control over the civil administration and Israel continues to have overriding responsibility for security; while in Area C, Israel has full control over the security and administrative issues. Table 1 clarifies the classification of lands of Nahhalin village:

*Table 1: Classification of Nahhalin Lands According to Oslo II Interim Agreement of 1995*
*%from the total Town lands*	*Area-Dunums*	*Land Classification*
0	0	Area A
6.6	1,132	Area B
93.4	16,118	Area C
100	17,250	Total
*Source: ARIJ Database 2011*

The village of Nahhalin is surrounded from its four directions with a set of Israeli settlements, Rush Tzurim, Neve Daniel, Giva’ot and Betar ‘Illit, which were built on its lands and caused the confiscation of 1411 dunums (11.6%) of its total area which amounts to 12126 dunums. See table 2 below:

*Table 2: illegal Israeli Settlements Built on Nahhalin Village Lands*
*Settlement Name*	*Establishment* *Date*	*Total area* *of settlement* *(Dunums)*	Population (2009)
Rush Tzurim	1969	893	364
Neve Daniel	1982	584	1600
Giva’ot	1984	135	44
Betar ‘Illit	1985	4686	29000
*Total*	*****	*6298*	*31008*
*Source: ARIJ Database 2011*

In addition, the construction of the Israeli Segregation Wall will put Nahhalin village along with six neighboring Palestinian communities in an enclave and segregate them from the center of life in Bethlehem Governorate.

To Conclude
Israel continues to target Nahhalin village homes and properties in order to impose facts on the ground, to prevent local residents from building on their own lands in order to expand the adjacent illegal settlements which were built on the village’s lands. This in turn constitutes a grave breach for the International law rules and human conventions such as:
• Article 53 & 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 indicated that: Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, is a grave breach of the Convention.
• Moreover Art. 23 of the Hague Convention of 1907 also provides: In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.
• Also under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of, December 10, 1948, Article 17 reads: ‘No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.’ Which means it bans Israel from destroying or confiscating the property of the Palestinians at any case.

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[1] According to Oslo II Interim agreement of 1995 signed between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel

Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem